Pittsburgh, PA – Your Environmental Road Trip (YERT), an award winning documentary from Pittsburgh film maker Mark Dixon and Louisvilles Ben Evans, will have its Pittsburgh premiere on Tuesday, September 20 at 7 p.m. at the Eddy Theater at Chatham University. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.

YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip celebrates the American spirit in the face of adversity, and is a unique docu-comedy profiling the courageous and creative individuals, groups, businesses and leaders of this country who are tackling the greatest environmental threats in history. It features the travels of Mark Dixon, Ben Evans, and Julie Evans as they covered 50 states in one year and virtually every environmental issue coast to coast. With a blend of humor and depth, the film features such luminaries as Bill McKibben, Deepak Chopra, and members of Congress  as well as ordinary citizens from all walks of life.

Inspired by the legacy of hometown environmental hero Rachel Carson, YERTs adventure launched from the Rachel Carson Homestead just outside of Pittsburgh on July 4, 2007. One year later, Mark, Ben, and Julie (and their new baby Bailey), were joined by supporters for a homecoming party at the Rachel Carson Homestead.

The September 20 screening is hosted by the Rachel Carson Institute in the School of Sustainability and the Environment at Chatham University. Sponsors include Citizens for Pennsylvanias Future (PennFuture) and its Black and Gold City Goes Green, Three Rivers Solar Source, and Breathe Easy, Stay Healthy campaigns. Additional sponsors include Tree Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Group of the Sierra Club, Venture Outdoors, Transition Pittsburgh, 3RiversBioneers, Evolver, Grow Pittsburgh, Sust-Enable, Peaceful Gathering of Hands (P.G.H.), and the Pittsburgh Student Environmental Coalition (PSEC). Parkhurst Dining Services will be providing complimentary light refreshments.

YERT is an Official Selection at Southern Appalachian Int’l Film Festival
Our latest film festival acceptance has come from the Southern Appalachian International Film Festival (SOAPIFF) in the Tri-Cities area of Northeast Tennessee. We have also received notice that we are contenders for awards, so keep your fingers crossed– at least when you’re not e-mailing friends and family in the area to go see the screening.

A GREAT Louisville Premiere
YERT had a fantastic Louisville Premiere at the Louisville Science Center’s IMAX Theatre on July 28th. Approximately 400 people saw the film at two packed screenings, filled with plenty of laughter and tears, and capped by two enthusiastic standing ovations. Check out the AUDIENCE FEEDBACK here, and at the bottom of this email. Following both screenings, Ben fielded audience questions with help from Julie (& Bailey) and co-editor Scott Irick, and The Science Center declared that “the premiere was fantastic” and that they were “glad to see an entirely new demographic in the Science Center.” Who knows, we may just have to start a national Science Center tour… BIG THANKS to the Louisville Science Center for so generously giving of their time and staff to host the screenings and to the event’s sponsors: The Green Building, The Louisville Film Society, and Mrs. Potter’s Coffee. And a special thanks to GreenList Louisville and to the entire Louisville community for helping us get the word out!

Premiere Planning in PA, CA, TX, NY, OR, WA, DC, and Europe
We’re continuing to roll out the YERT film at premieres around the country. The Pittsburgh premiere comes up next, and we’ll soon be announcing premiere dates for California (San Francisco). We would also like to have premiere events in Portland (OR), Seattle (WA), New York (NY), Austin (TX), and Washington (DC), and an international premiere. Do you know organizations or individuals in these cities that you think would be helpful collaborators in creating a strong YERT premiere? Please encourage them to contact us ASAP at team@yert.com! And if you’d like to arrange a screening near you, wherever you are, premiere or not, you can always do that at our screening page.

Seeking Outreach Volunteers
Our team of outreach volunteers is growing, but we still need more help! Would you like to spend a couple hours each week as an outreach volunteer? Click here to sign up and we’ll follow-up with you by e-mail and phone. We particularly need active grass-roots development in these states: PA, CA, TX, NY, OR, WA, DC. Sign up today!

And that’s the latest news from YERT. You can join the conversation on Facebook, and we’ll see you again soon!

Cheers,
Ben, Mark, and Julie
team@yert.com

— NEW Quotes from YERT’s Louisville Premiere —

“To give this film some justice, I have to say it had every aspect of an entertaining documentary, be it drama, comedy, and useful information. It makes me want to have an awesome road trip around the country and go see all the wonderful innovations being done to help our environment, but that would be oxymoronic to say the least. Thank you for all the wonderful eye-opening footage and humor you used in the film, I think the message was clear, the future is in our hands…and if we don’t hold onto it, and nurture it as stewards of the land, we’ll have nothing to hand down to our children.” – Brian Deis, Louisville Premiere

“I loved every minute of this film! Perfect balance of information, humor, hope and a half dozed other “tags”. I feel priviledged to have been to a few pre-screenings and to have given some feedback then. I hope and pray that a television series can be made of it!!” – Holly Hamilton, Louisville Premiere

“This is a movie for all generations — it’s collection of humor, environmental savvy, personal/relationship development and goal attainment creates a desire to keep watching. It’s an easy movie to talk to others about, and I anticipate easily spreading the word about this movie by word of mouth, etc.” – Nate Pederson, Louisville Premiere”

The audience at the Louisville Premiere. Photo courtesy of Claude Stephens.

You are warmly invited to the Pittsburgh Premiere of the feature documentary “YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip” on Sept. 20th, 7pm at the Eddy Theater at Chatham University. The screening will be followed by Q&A with the filmmakers Mark Dixon and Ben Evans.

…A deeply absorbing and often hilarious road trip…By the dramatic end of Your Environmental Road Trip, audiences will not only cheer, but feel compelled to spring to their feet to join an inspiring movement for change. If only our nations policymakers will watch this important film and do the same.
– Jeff Biggers, Huffington Post

YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip is an award-winning film (Audience Award – Environmental Film Festival at Yale 2011) celebrating the American spirit in the face of adversity – a unique docu-comedy profiling the courageous and creative individuals, groups, businesses and leaders of this country who are tackling the greatest environmental threats in history.

Covering 50 states in 1 year and virtually every environmental issue coast to coast with a blend of humor and depth, the film features such luminaries as Bill McKibben, Wes Jackson, Michael Bloomberg, Deepak Chopra, Janine Benyus, Will Allen, David Orr, Michael Reynolds, Joel Salatin, David Korten, and members of Congress…as well as ordinary citizens from all walks of life. It was an alternately heart-rending, mind-blowing, and gut-busting adventure – but ultimately an inspiring one.

Mark Dixon, YERTs Co-founder and Producer, moved to Pittsburgh prior to the launch of the YERT project back in 2006. Meanwhile, YERT Co-founder and Director, Ben Evans, was a big fan of the Steel City, having starred in several productions at City Theatre on the South Side, including (conveniently enough) a one-man show in the summer of 2007. Because of strong support from the Pittsburgh environmental community and inspiration from the legacy of hometown environmental hero Rachel Carson, YERTs adventure launched from the Rachel Carson homestead just outside of Pittsburgh on July 4, 2007, just a few days after Bill Peduto helped to make Your Environmental Road Trip Day official in the city of Pittsburgh. At the conclusion of the road trip, Mark, Ben & Julie (and their new baby Bailey), were joined by supporters for a homecoming party at the Rachel Carson Homestead. Following the trip, Ben returned briefly to Pittsburgh for another production at City Theatre, while Mark now lives in Pittsburghs Highland Park with his wife. The YERT team continues its environmental outreach through lively presentations at venues across the country, including local events at CMU, Chatham, Duquesne, Pitt, Slippery Rock University, Sustainable Monroeville, and the 3RiversBioneers.